Wednesday, December 9, 2009

KRAMPUS!

Hello Loves! I'm totally slacking on the blog lately. I've been a busy bee though! I just finished painting my bathroom, re caulked my tub and everything! I've had this and several other projects on my "to do" list for a long time, so I want to get it all done before the New Year! Anyway, here's another re-post from last year! Again, I have many new readers that might have missed this one the first time around. Hope you are all surviving the HOLIDAZE! xo!

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm telling you why....I wish I knew about Krampus when I started telling my daughter Christmas tales! She could care less if I threaten her with the ol' "Santa will leave coal in your stocking" bit! But Krampus, now that's the kind of folklore we can use to keep naughty girls and boys in line! Did you know that before St. Nick employed elves to help him out, he was accompanied by the Devil? Krampus followed St. Nick around like a shadow. Good little children were rewarded with gifts and the bad ones were punished by Krampus! Sometimes Krampus will just give give you a good scare and a verbal warning! One could only hope...

In addition to the dreaded coal in the stocking, if you were just a little naughty you might get off with a swat on the ass! Or if you deserve a more severe punishment...Krampus might really rough you up!

But you know what happens to those really bad children!? He might throw you in his straw sack and steal you away into the forest...never to be heard from again!

In Austria and Germany, the tradition (which may vary slightly in different parts of the country) is that the boots of good children will be filled with goodies on December 6th by St. Nicholas. Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus on the evening of December 5, and roam the streets with St. Nick frightening children (and adults) growling and shaking rusty chains and bells! The present day Krampus costume consists of wooden masks, sheep or goat's skin and horns. The tradition might also include slight spankings with a switch or tree branch by the Krampus, especially of young females! Meanwhile St. Nick hands out children candy, fruit and small toys! During these festivals St. Nick is accompanied by a whole gang!

Modern day Krampus Festivals are sometimes very dangerous, especially for women. Old tales say Krampus (a horny fertility god) is quite fond of sexually harassing women and slapping them on the behind. This leads to a lot of sexual misconduct on the streets by drunken men dressed as Krampus!

The Companion of St. Nicholas is associated with the story of Knecht Ruprecht (Saint Rupert), a wild foundling whom St. Nicholas raises from childhood. In some of the Ruprecht traditions, the children would be summoned to the door to perform tricks, such as a dance or singing a song to impress upon St. Nick and Ruprecht that they were indeed good children. Those who performed badly would be beaten soundly by Servant Ruprecht, and those who performed well were given a gift or some treats. Those who performed badly enough or had committed other misdeeds throughout the year were put into Ruprecht's sack and taken away, variously to Ruprecht’s home in the Black Forest. In other versions the children must be asleep, and would awake to find their shoes filled with either sweets, coal, or in some cases a stick. Over time, other customs developed: parents giving kids who misbehaved a stick instead of treats and saying that it was a warning from Nikolaus that "unless you improve by Christmas day, Nikolaus' black servant Ruprecht will come and beat you with the stick and you won't get any Christmas gifts." I read quite a few interesting articles about Krampus while searching the internet for images. However, most of them focused on the notion that Krampus and St. Nick eventually were merged into one character that we now recognize as Santa Claus. Santa now punishes naughty children and rewards the good ones. As you know, he has a list...and checks it twice!

Only a few articles suggested that Krampus has pre-Christian Pagan origins. One pointed torwards the "Wilde Man" of Germanic and Slavic folklore. These tales spawned stories like the Brothers Grimm tale entitled "De Wilde Mann" and Beauty and the Beast. The Wild Man, Woodwose is connected to devilish woodland spirits like Puck and the vegetal Green Man. So I would say that notion is misleading. Others suggest a connection to the mysterious "Horned God". But there are many horned god deities, so that really needs to be defined. When Neopagans refer to the "Horned God", they could be refering to one of several different horned dieties. One such archetype represents the personification of the life force energy in animals and the wilderness, fertility, sexual virility and the Hunt. Gods like Cernunnos, Pan, Faunus, and Innus are personified as being sex crazed or shown as having a large erect phallus. Fertility, fecundity and the symbolism of the phallus all denote a connection to the rites rituals, and celebrations of Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. (As does the aforementioned Wilde Man) So none of these references have any synchronicity with Krampus.

In some depictions, Krampus bears an uncanny resemblance to "The Devil". The Devil is still a vague reference as he is merely a modern personification of Evil. The Devil usually refers to Lucifer and Satan of the Bible. They are commonly lumped together into one entity. They are two entirely different spiritual beings however. In Hebrew ha-Satan is "the accuser" and Satan itself means "to overcome" — the one who challenged the religious faith of humans in the books of Job and Zechariah. Abrahamic religious belief systems other than Judaism relate this term to a rebellious fallen angel, devil, minor god and idol, or as an allegory for knowledge or the enlightenment of mankind. Another aspect of the Devil points torwards the Serpent in the Garden of Eden who tempted Adam and Eve to eat from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (e.g., “sexual knowing”) The Serpent in the Garden is more likely rooted in Ancient Sumerian texts and is actually Enlil (Ilu), Lord of the Air and Lord of the Command was said to have created an created an E.DIN, according to Sumerian texts.He was said to have descended from Heaven to Earth. Half brother of Enki (Ea), Lord of the Earth and Waters. The philosophy of Enki manifests and explains itself in pre-Christian Mesopotamian and Egyptian thought. Satan doesn't have any synchronicities with Krampus. So we're getting off track again here.

Let's talk about Lucifer! In Latin, the word "Lucifer", meaning "Light-Bringer" (from lux, lucis, "light", and ferre, "to bear, bring"), is a name for the "Eastern Star" or "Day Star". This usage stems from a particular interpretation, as a reference to a fallen angel, of a passage in the Bible (Isaiah 14:3-20) that speaks of someone who is given the name of "Day Star" (in Latin, Lucifer) as fallen from heaven. The same Latin word is used of the morning star in 2 Peter 1:19 and elsewhere with no relation to Satan. Lucifer is recognized by Occultists as the Father of Baphomet, and is represented as the Sabbatic Goat. Eliphas Lévi considered Baphomet to be a depiction of the absolute in symbolic form. Below is an illustration of Baphomet by Lévi. His depiction is similar to that of the Devil in early tarot cards.

Lévi wrote: "The goat on the frontispiece carries the sign of the pentagram on the forehead, with one point at the top, a symbol of light, his two hands forming the sign of hermetism, the one pointing up to the white moon of Chesed, the other pointing down to the black one of Geburah. This sign expresses the perfect harmony of mercy with justice. His one arm is female, the other male like the ones of the androgyn of Khunrath, the attributes of which we had to unite with those of our goat because he is one and the same symbol. The flame of intelligence shining between his horns is the magic light ("Light-Bringer") of the universal balance, the image of the soul elevated above matter, as the flame, whilst being tied to matter, shines above it. The beast's head expresses the horror of the sinner, whose materially acting, solely responsible part has to bear the punishment exclusively; because the soul is insensitive according to its nature and can only suffer when it materializes. The rod standing instead of genitals symbolizes eternal life, the body covered with scales the water, the semi-circle above it the atmosphere, the feathers following above the volatile. Humanity is represented by the two breasts and the androgyn arms of this sphinx of the occult sciences." The word Baphomet is said to be an Old French corruption and misspelling of the name Mahomet (Muhammad). Christianity claims that Muhammad is a false Prophet and therefore demonizes him and the followers of Islam (Peace). The name is a combination of two Greek words (baphe and metis) and meant 'absorption into wisdom.' I could go on and on about the origins of Baphomet, and synchronicities with other gods throughout different cultures, but I'll spare you the details. I just wanted to establish that Lucifer and Baphomet are one and the same...Lords of the Underworld.

So what does all this have to do with Christmas and why is Santa hanging out with Lucifer? Let's break it down, shall we? In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice occurs either December 21 or 22, when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Capricorn. The winter solstice marks the shortest day and the longest, night of the year. (This is reversed during Summer Solstice) Following the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer and the nights shorter.

Again, in the Tarot the Devil Card is associated with the sign of Capricorn. Capricornus has been recognized as a goat since Babylonian and Chaldean times. Below is Occultist Aleister Crowley's version of the Devil, he states: "He is 'The Devil' of the Book of Thoth, and His emblem is BAPHOMET, the Androgyne who is the hieroglyph of arcane perfection. He is therefore Life and Love. But moreover his letter is ayin, the Eye, so that he is Light; and his Zodiacal image is Capricornus, that leaping goat whose attribute is Liberty."

Santa Claus/St. Nick/Father Christmas is simply the personification of Winter Solstice accompanied by his servant and messenger Krampus the Horned God! Krampus the "Horned God" represents the movement of the Sun into Capricorn. Check out this image of Santa riding in on a Goat! The Horned God heralds the begining of Winter!

Winter Solstice is longest night of the year. (Again, after winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer and the nights shorter.) The Horned God not only heralds the beginning of Winter, but he carries the souls of the dead to the underworld. (Death here is symbolic of repressed sexual energy.) represents the of the "Dark night of the Soul" or the descent of Spirit into darkness. As the "Bringer of Light" he promises the return of the Sun (Enlightenment). The Horned Fertility God offers the secret of rebirth. Notice in Eliphas Lévi's illustration, Baphomet reveals the the caduceus or magic wand of Hermes (Mercury). His arms reveal the words "Solve" and "Coagula" In alchemy the term in Latin: SOLVE ET COAGULA means separate and join together or dissolve and coagulate (bind together)

The caduceus is comprised of two serpents coupling on an erected phallus, fertility symbol. The rod is a symbol of transforming alchemical power. The two serpents represent Union of Opposites (Sun/Moon) The snakes together with the sprouted wings depict the caduceus having an alchemical meaning of balance of duality, the alchemical process leading to unity. Even today, the symbol is often associated with medicine. Levi called his image “the Baphomet of Mendes” (Mendes is an ancient Egyptian city) "the Lord of Mendes", who was the soul of the Egyptian god Osiris, father of the "DIVINE CHILD", Horus...For Crowley, Baphomet is further a representative of the spiritual nature of the spermatozoa while also being symbolic of the "MAGICAL CHILD" produced as a result of sex magic. As such, Baphomet represents the Union of Opposites, especially as mystically personified in Beast and Babalon combined and biologically manifested with the sperm and egg united in the zygote. The birth of the Christ Child is a metaphor for Spiritual Rebirth. Enlightenment that comes after a period of Darkness (Ignorance) "Out of Darkness, Cometh Light" But it also quite literally points torward the return of the Sun in Summer Soltice.

Winter solstice festivals throughout all cultures in ancient and modern times celebrate the rebirth of the Great God (Christ), who is viewed as the newborn Solstice Sun. Most traditions include "festival of lights". Which celebrates the return of Sun or birth of the Son! Germanic Tribes lighted trees (Tannenbaum) and celebrated the fest of light (Lichtfest) around the shortest day of the year, December 21. Yule traditions include decorating a fir or spruce tree with candles, burning a Yule log, hanging mistletoe and holly branches, giving gifts, and general celebration and merriment. On Christmas an evergreen tree that is brought into a home is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during the days around Christmas. An angel or a star is placed at the top of the tree, representing the Star of Bethlahem, Archangel Auriel. This is the North star that the Three Wise Men followed.

Remember, Lucifer "Bringer of Light" or "Morning Star"? If you look again at Eliphas Lévi's depiction of the Horned One, he has a 5-pointed Star on his forehead. "The flame of intelligence shining between his horns is the magic light" It is the Star of Adam Kadom. In the Qabala, Christ, the Logos, the only begotten son of God as found in Genesis 1: 1, not to be confused with the emanations of Adam Kadom (also called Adam or Eden) as found in Genesis 2 (consciousness) or Genesis 3 (matter and life) or Genesis 4 (humanity). Below you'll notice that the symbol for Lucifer is a 5-pointed star pointing downwards, representing the souls descent into darkness. Also shown is the Star of Adam Kadom, a 5-pointed star pointing up, representing Christ Consciousness...enlightement). That would indicate that the Devil as Christ's antagonist in the Bible really represents Man struggling within himself, his own Shadow. It's through the Union of this Duality that we achieve Spiritual Liberation!

14 comments:

I must tell you: this was one of the very 1st entries I read from you blog- could it really have been a mere year ago? When I first discovered this blog and the cabinet of curiosities team it was a huge influence to me and to the direction my work would take. Ah, wonderous! To find a community out there w/this certain aesthetic, earth-witchy, gothic w/o being tacky, art-focused and based on a deep appreciation of history. Changed my life. Thank you thank you thank you.

Cruised by here to double-check your URL—as my tired eyes either over-looked it a moment ago among my site's list of links, or I accidentally replaced it in one of my dumb-ass moves. (In the attempt to keep my linkature alphabetized, I've been known to "Command + X" in lieu of the ol' "Command + C"/"Command + V" routine. Another unfortunate symptom of sleep deprivation, much to my chagrin...)

At any rate, heading back over that direction now, but am tempted to just do a massive re-post; that's how intriguing, aesthetically-pleasing, and just downright effing cool this blog is!

This is most definitely a sign of the times, and most definitely a shadow of how miss leading "internet research" can be. This post is just one more brick in the wall of a completely lost and ignorant generation.

Austin: You must be a Born Again Christian or a Pagan Traditionalist...or maybe just a pompous academic stuffed shirt. Either way, go ahead and hang on to your outmoded belief systems. I may not have any literary credibility, but I'm not ignorant and I'm certainly not lost.

Humans often gain a sense of pride in their own knowledge. And in an attempt to preserve their intellectual superiority, reject the ideologies of others. It's always that type of intellectual pride that has slowed down Man's evolution. What a shame...

I'd recommend you read about Boujeloud. Kramus is directly tied to pagan Pan rituals, the Roman Lupercalia fertility rites and so forth. But your analysis of the Solstice symbolism is spot on. If you've seen the Zeitgeist film, you'll find further correlation between Christ, astrology, Ra, and the Equinox. Enjoy.

Thanks, I'll check into Boujeloud! Yes, the Zeitgeist film is an outstanding piece of work...I watched it at least 6 times!

I realize this writing is flawed, and leaves me open to arguments regarding the myths and archetypes I've mentioned. But I think I nailed it with the correlation between Krampus, horned fertility gods, and Capricornus.